tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post5654823634989252085..comments2024-03-25T11:29:25.356-04:00Comments on Existential Ennui: Film Review: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Tomas Alfredson, 2011)Nick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)http://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-76772842580839180722011-12-02T09:32:13.743-05:002011-12-02T09:32:13.743-05:00Quite so, Luxembourg. Thanks for the comment.Quite so, Luxembourg. Thanks for the comment.Nick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-8966422064876639532011-12-01T02:47:07.837-05:002011-12-01T02:47:07.837-05:00Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - the title adapted f...Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - the title adapted from a nursery rhyme - is a serious read. It is not an easy read, not a fun read, but a read for the discriminating mind seeking serious fiction. The cold war is now past. But the shadowy workings of the tradecraft is still current. This novel captures it in all its realism without sensationalism. It is a simple novel with a complex plot.Luxembourghttp://begrownup.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-41151072317020822842011-10-05T12:27:30.198-04:002011-10-05T12:27:30.198-04:00Well that's three votes for Hugh Grant as Jerr...Well that's three votes for Hugh Grant as Jerry Westerby – four if you count mine. What we need now is for the film's producers to chance upon this post, get them thinking...Nick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-1096767481894388642011-10-05T05:08:31.017-04:002011-10-05T05:08:31.017-04:00Well done whoever suggested Hugh Grant for Westerb...Well done whoever suggested Hugh Grant for Westerby - I only came across this page after googling "Hugh Grant" and "Jerry Westerby" to see if anyone else had already had the idea.<br />In the run-up to TTSS's release I decided to re-read The Honourable Schoolboy and had the familiar problem of trying not to visualise Joss Ackland's performance from the TV Tinker ... In doing so, I tried mentally casting a THS movie and came to the same conclusion that Grant would be ideal (he's just about the right age now, too). Credit where it's due - Joss Ackland is perfect as the Westerby of Le Carré's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, but - as someone has already pointed out - Le Carré clearly re-invented the character for the follow-up and he's quote a different fish indeed. Definitely not Stephen Graham.Essembyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15748326453856793247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-25296462987722514092011-09-21T18:37:35.848-04:002011-09-21T18:37:35.848-04:00Oh, Hugh Grant's a very intriguing idea! You&#...Oh, Hugh Grant's a very intriguing idea! You're right; not someone who would readily spring to mind, but the sort of casting I can see working quite well. <br /><br />But I do wonder if the producers are all set on Graham already. After all, why else would they name that character Jerry and not Sam if it wasn't to plant him in the story purely for the sake of the sequel? It definitely seems an ODD choice to me (though I have not seen him in the role yet!), but I can't see another reason for it...Tannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03910873055922510145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-58168003425588359002011-09-20T14:24:27.716-04:002011-09-20T14:24:27.716-04:00Hugh Grant's an interesting choice for Westerb...Hugh Grant's an interesting choice for Westerby; not someone who immediately springs to mind for the part, but I can see your thinking. I suspect you might be right about them going straight to Smiley's People, but while I'll keep my fingers crossed for The Honourable Schoolboy, any kind of sequel would be fine.Nick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-78847814915635447362011-09-20T08:26:59.937-04:002011-09-20T08:26:59.937-04:00Don't get me wrong, I'd rather see two seq...Don't get me wrong, I'd rather see two sequels to this film than only one, but I just have a feeling that they'll hop to Smiley's People if they do a follow-up. I agree that Hugh Bonneville would make a great on-screen Westerby, though I'm sure they'd try for a bigger star if a Honourable Schoolboy film did go ahead. Colin Firth would have been good, if they hadn't already cast him as someone else... Hugh Grant? I think he'd actually be rather good, though audiences tend not to want him in anything other than light comedy.<br />I wonder how the film will fare in the US. With a reported $30 million budget, I'm sure it's not going to lose money overall, but I think the sequel will hinge on the kind of awards recognition it gets...Adamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-10719525147431593092011-09-20T06:59:04.640-04:002011-09-20T06:59:04.640-04:00As do I! Perhaps if enough of us shout loudly enou...As do I! Perhaps if enough of us shout loudly enough, we'll get the result we desire. Thanks for the thoughtful comment, Bill!Nick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-55598821725876560462011-09-19T17:23:29.582-04:002011-09-19T17:23:29.582-04:00Sounds utterly fantastic! I can't wait for it ...Sounds utterly fantastic! I can't wait for it to come to America. I hope Universal's delay tactic pays off and does indeed position the film well for Oscars. Mainly because I hope Oscar buzz will improve the American box office and lead to a sequel! <br /><br />Like you, Louis, I really, really want to see them do Schoolboy next. It's a great novel and, unlike Smiley's People, it's never been filmed. Adam, I respectfully disagree that they could easily miss out on it. I think the fact that BBC did that has given people the idea that it works out fine. It did for them, but the trilogy of books is so much richer for its middle installment, and so could be this new potential film trilogy. (Dare I say it?) While Westerby's story is sort of a standalone from the other two Karla books, I think that Smiley's experience in Schoolboy greatly informs his actions in People, and make the various character payoffs then that much more satisfying. I'm glad to hear from Louis that hte end of the movie would seem to set up Schoolboy, since Oldman recently jumped to People when talking sequels on the red carpet.<br /><br />I'll give him the benefit of the doubt until I see the film, but I definitely can't picture Stephen Graham as the Westerby of Schoolboy. It seems weird to me that they apparently pretty much kept the Sam Collins character and gave him Westerby's name here--espeically given potential set-up for a sequel! Come to think of it, Adam, the radio's Hugh Bonneville would probably make a perfect screen Westerby, too... <br /><br />I think you're absolutely right, Louis, that the potential is there to make Schoolboy more Smiley-centric in the adaptation. The book may focus more on Westerby, but everything you need is there for a sequel to satisfy Oldman as well. I hope that's the route they go...Tannerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03910873055922510145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-17126638004938024802011-09-19T11:21:14.425-04:002011-09-19T11:21:14.425-04:00There's still plenty of Smiley in The Honourab...There's still plenty of Smiley in The Honourable Schoolboy, I think, certainly enough to make that strand the focus of any prospective film. But I guess we'll have to wait and see: by all rights Tinker Tailor should do well enough to warrant a follow-up. <br /><br />Sam's in Honourable, yep: Smiley brings him back into the Circus to help unravel Karla's trail. And now I do dimly recall Jerry popping up in the novel of Tinker Tailor. I dunno: what did we all do before Wikipedia came along?Nick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-72918057368255773812011-09-19T11:06:30.592-04:002011-09-19T11:06:30.592-04:00Thanks to the film's Wikipedia entry, which li...Thanks to the film's Wikipedia entry, which lists differences from the novel, I can confirm that Westerby does not feature in the novel in the way the film's used him. In the book, the guy brought in by Control to the watch the shop on the night of Operation Testify is Sam Collins (who goes on to feature in The Honourable Schoolboy I think?). I wonder why they decided to change him to Jerry for the film? In the TV version of Tinker. there's a scene where Smiley has dinner with a tiresome Jerry Westerby, played to perfection by Joss Ackland, but I can;t remember if that's in the book either.<br />I think if there is an Oldman sequel, the moneymen and the public would expect a story with Smiley front and centre, which you can't really do with The Honourable Schoolboy...Adam Newellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02637192957441982485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-37461626583456949402011-09-19T09:34:14.394-04:002011-09-19T09:34:14.394-04:00Hmm, you might be right. Certainly when I was read...Hmm, you might be right. Certainly when I was reading Honourable I didn't even recall Jerry being in Tinker Tailor.Nick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-86070620180331267142011-09-19T09:10:17.927-04:002011-09-19T09:10:17.927-04:00The problem with Jerry Westerby is that Le Carre b...The problem with Jerry Westerby is that Le Carre basically recast him himself. The Jerry of TTSS has nothing in common with that of THS. I think...Roly "Mr Erudite" Allennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-89104775416203625412011-09-19T08:41:39.379-04:002011-09-19T08:41:39.379-04:00Be a shame if they did miss out The Honourable Sch...Be a shame if they did miss out The Honourable Schoolboy though: with a little trimming, that could make for an equally brilliant film, and the end of Tinker Tailor pretty much sets up the Smiley parts. But yeah, Stephen Graham as a Scouse Westerby didn't quite sit right with me either. And I don't remember Jerry Westerby featuring in the novel in that manner in any case...Nick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-78260981203213366362011-09-19T08:35:35.791-04:002011-09-19T08:35:35.791-04:00I completely agree with you about the film, and if...I completely agree with you about the film, and if I could find anyone giving odds on Oldman getting (his first, amazingly) Oscar nomination, I would happily fill my boots.<br />Let's hope the US boxoffice/reception leads to the sequel which is begging to be made: Smiley's People. I think they can easily miss out The Honourable Schoolboy, but if they don;t, they'll have to rename or recast Jerry Westerby: Stephen Graham is a great actor, but Westerby's no Scouser!Adam Newellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02637192957441982485noreply@blogger.com